Will colleges see or care whether I score lower (say by 3 points) on the ACT the second time I take it? If colleges do care, is it possible for me to send my first score and not send my second ACT score? I felt like the new ACT was a lot harder overall… Thanks.
Yes, a score going down is not a good thing. Some colleges require that you send all scores, but not all do. You select which scores to send when you order them.
But on the Common App, I can choose how many ACT scores I want to report… Or is that a different thing?
Do not worry, colleges WILL NOT see that 3 point decrease. When applying to colleges you get to choose which ACT or SAT score you would like to send. Most people just send one score for one of the exams. For example let’s say I got a 35 on my ACT and then a 32 on my 2nd ACT and a 2200 on my SAT. I could just send my first ACT of a 35 and not send the other scores, most people do that they send one exam’s highest score. You could send all scores, but colleges only focus on your highest score.